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The Bombay High Court recently ruled in favor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), dismissing two petitions that challenged modified tender conditions for solid waste collection and transportation. Petitioners had sought a fresh tender with older criteria, arguing that the new seven-year experience requirement was impossible for Mumbai contractors to meet. The court, however, affirmed that the civic body is best placed to define its tender requirements and that the court cannot overrule its judgment. This decision allows BMC to proceed with its waste management tender, ensuring essential services continue without interruption.
The Bombay High Court recently sided with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in two petitions that challenged modified conditions for a tender related to collecting and transporting solid waste in Mumbai's wards. Advertisement
Veer Infra, along with another petitioner, had approached the High Court to seek a new tender notice. They argued against the modified conditions, which were updated on July 1, 2025. The tender covers collecting and transporting municipal solid waste to transfer stations and final disposal sites for a seven-year period, from 2025 to 2032.
A pre-bid meeting was held on May 29, 2025, where both petitioners had raised concerns about the eligibility requirements. They argued that the July 1 modifications were a complete change to the tender conditions. They claimed that demanding seven years of experience in door-to-door collection, storage, segregation, transportation, and disposal of municipal solid waste was impossible for any Mumbai contractor to meet. This was because a tender of such a large size had not been floated in the city in the past seven years.
The petitioners also contended that waste processing plants in Mumbai were installed only five years ago, making it difficult for local bidders to meet the prescribed experience criteria. They further argued that a modified marking system, which reserved 50 marks for subjective analysis, left room for unfairness in selecting preferred bidders.
The High Court, however, stated that the civic body is the best judge to understand its needs and had set the tender conditions accordingly. The court noted that it couldn't act as an appeals authority over the wisdom of the tendering body in choosing a particular method for evaluating bids. On the objection related to limiting Joint Venture (JV) bidders from bidding for more than one group, the High Court clarified that a bidder can bid for any number of groups, provided they meet the criteria for turnover and work experience individually for those groups. The court's decision allows BMC to proceed with the tender process.
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